by Bridigd

Alice Stensland sat on a plastic chair outside of the chief medical examiner's office. She knew in her heart this day would come and the fear of it caused her to detach from her husband years ago. She'd built a wall to protect herself from the heartbreak that so many cops' wives had suffered. As a matter of fact she could probably name half a dozen of them off the top of her head. The woman's auxiliary would always get together to bring the grieving widow a few casseroles and some cold cuts to help ease the burden of feeding throngs of visitors who came with their god dammed condolences. The only thing bitterer then the reality of it all was the thought of Tank Henderson's wife and the putrid green jello mold that she always brought.

"Alice..." Bud's voice boomed the length of the hall and she sat up from her slouch.

"Bud." She stood from the chair and her knees wobbled. Stretching her arms out to him, she fell into the big man as he captured her.

"They won't let me see him yet, Bud. No one has identified him for sure but they won't let me see him. Can't you make them? I need to know."

"I'll go in Alice. Will you be alright? Can you wait here?" He stepped back and supported her arms.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I just gotta know, Bud. I just gotta know for sure."

He set her back down in the chair and left her with a reassuring touch to her shoulder. Bud pulled his badge out of his pocket as he went through the double doors into the exam room. He was stopped at once by a man dressed in white lab clothes."

"Hold on pal. You can't go in there."

"Yes I can." Bud flashed his badge. "I'm here to ID Stenland. He's...He was my partner."

"Are you White?"

"Yeah."

"Wait here a minute. I'll let the CME know you're here."

He wasn't a man to wait. Bud followed the man right through the second set of doors. He stopped suddenly seeing the mass of body lying on the exam table covered up with a bloody sheet. Bud could handle this; at least he had himself convinced. Fisting his hands in the edge of the sheet, he drew it back.

"Fucking hell!" Whatever the examiners office used to identify him had nothing to do with his face. He was shot in the back of the head execution style and the exit wound took a good deal of his right eye, cheek and jaw with it. With a shudder, Bud pulled the sheet back up. It was a mole on his neck that told Bud this was his partner.

"I asked you to wait outside, White." The assistant wiped a hand on his coat before lighting the cigarette that hung from his mouth.

"What happened to him? Where was he found?" Bud shot back, ignoring the man's statement.

"It's all in the report. There wasn't much to go on. He was found in a park but that ain't where they did him, wasn't enough blood on the scene. Poor bastard pissed his pants before they blew his head off too."

The tech never knew what hit him as he was slammed against the wall. He didn't feel the lit cigarette burn his thigh on its way to the linoleum floor.

"He was my partner god damn it." Bud White may have done some serious damage to the man had it not been for the voice behind him.

"Bud. Stop!"

The anger in his eyes fueled the fear in the techs but it dissipated with the sound of Lonnie's demand. Bud dropped the man and turned, flashing the remnants of his ire at her.

"I told you to stay the fuck home."

"I can't. You know why, the Archer case, I have a job to do too, Bud. Listen baby, this will go a lot smoother if we work together. You know they're going to give you leave, a week maybe two off because of this." She was telling a little white lie but she knew better then to approach him with what she'd found just yet.

He stood and glared at her. It was obvious his mind was working. Rational thoughts began to seep into his anger filled mind but with Bud it wasn't easy. It was a battle.

The lab tech scurried away barely noticed as Lonnie and Bud faced off.

"He'll be back with a handful of officers Bud. They'll be questions about the palm prints on his neck. We can avoid it if we go now."

He let out a breath and a shit load of steam. Moving forward with the grace of a bull he grasped her arm and took her with him. As they burst through the door they were met by the grieving widow face to face.

"Alice…I'm sorry. " Bud didn't control the growl in his voice though he struggled to sound compassionate. She swooned and crumpled back to the chair with the aid of his big hands. "Alice, listen to me. We have to go but I'll find out who did this. I'll find out and they'll pay. I'll get justice for him, I promise."

Lonnie was pulling on the sleeve of his jacket and he hated leaving Alice there like that but he had no choice and he knew it. As he and Lonnie withdrew he turned once to call back to her. 'I promise…"

As Bud and Lonnie burst through the exit doors of the ME office she stopped. "Leave your car. Come with me. We can't go home yet."

"What's wrong?" He fired "Tell me what's wrong!"

"Bud, damn it, come on. I'll tell you in the car. Trust me baby."

He did trust her. He more then trusted her and the niggling wave of better judgment told him to go with her.

Once they were in the car, Lonnie got them out of the parking lot and onto the interstate before she showed him. Reaching to the back seat she placed a manila folder on his lap.

"I got the preliminary report before I went to the morgue. Just…read the last line and you'll understand."

He skimmed the officer's report of how and where the body was found. When he reached the last paragraph he read silently.

…as per the bartender at the Formosa, the last person seen with Officer Richard Stensland was Officer Bud White. It is this officer's recommendation that he be brought in for questioning due to common knowledge of Officer White's on going relationship with Alice Stensland…

"They suspect me of this?"

"It looks that way Bud. I think it's why they brought you down to the morgue instead of HQ about it. So they could control you without making a scene in front of your fellow officers……What about you and Alice? Is this true?" She reckoned asking him flat out would be the best recourse and she was prepared for the worse.

"It's bullshit Lonnie! Stens was a drunk. I...I just took care of her is all. I gave her money for the kids and sometimes I did things for her. You know, fixed the fucking plumbing and shit like that. Who the fuck wrote this report?" Fumbling through the pages he went to the signature at the bottom.

Det .Lt. Edmund Jennings Exley

"I'll kill him. I'll fucking kill him! Take me down there now Lonnie"

"Think Bud! Think god damn it. Killing Exley won't get you out of this! We've got to find out what happened. It's the only way." His appearance scared the shit out of her. His complexion was crimson and his face was so distorted with anger she feared he'd jump right out of her car. Bud had a white knuckled grip on the report and his eyes were glazed with frustration and anger.

"Please, please, please listen to me. You've got to get a hold of yourself Bud!"

He was shaking when he turned his head to look at her. She glanced quickly at him but turned back to watch the road just as abruptly. He could see a single tear wind its way down her cheek. Was it from fear? Was she afraid of him? He breathed through his mouth as he struggled to shift, to gain control. It took a few minutes but he raised his hand and gently brushed the streak of makeup the drying tear had left on her face.

"I won't ever hurt you Lonnie."

"I know that baby. I know in my heart you'd never hurt me. I'm afraid for you not of you."

"I'm sorry." He'd found the gentle compassion in his voice. "Where are we going?"

"I have a friend in the Valley, another PI. He'll help us Bud. He'll give us a place to stay. It's the only place I can think of that's close enough… and safe."

w

Alice Stensland didn't shed another tear after she left the morgue. There was far too much to think about like selling the house, collecting Dick's pension money and insurance. She'd have to get the kids from school and daycare and she'd have to tell them that daddy wasn't coming home.

Just as she'd expected, the women from the auxiliary were waiting for her when she got home. There were trays of cold cuts, casseroles and that god awful green jello shit as well. It was time to turn on the waterworks again to keep up the façade of being the loving spouse of a fallen officer. Alice wasn't aware of who would be suspect in Dick's murder yet but she had her own ideas.

Mitzie Henderson was the first to meet her as she entered the house.

"Alice. I'm so sorry." Her face was swollen from crying but Alice knew it wasn't compassion as much as it was fear that this would happen to her. She accepted the hug graciously though and thought of her cat which had been struck and killed by a car so she could cry.

"Thanks Mitz. I'll be okay. I need to go get the kids."

"You'll do no such thing! I'll go get them. You need to lie down Alice. We can tell the kids together. It might be easier if you had someone to lean on."

"Yeah, I'd appreciate it."

Some of the other wives began to appear and she put on an Academy award winning performance. As a matter of fact she kind of enjoyed the attention. God knew she never got it from her husband. God and everyone else knew. She waltzed through the scene for a few moments before announcing that she needed to be alone, to go lie down. The LAPD policeman's wives auxiliary went about their usual duty of cleaning her house to prepare for the impending funeral and Alice retreated to her bedroom. She laid on her bed for a few moments before pushing herself up to make the call that was on her mind. Alice had no idea that Mitzi had picked up the extension to make a call to the school at the same time. Mitzy being…Mitzy covered the mouth piece and listened in as the phone rang. A man's voice answered and what followed that made Mitzy Henderson gasp.

"You told me he wouldn't be killed you prick!" Alice's voice held no remorse.

"Calm down Mrs. Stensland. We did what we had to do. You'll be duly compensated, mark my words."

"You better believe I will, Archer ..."

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